Clover Eats!
Sharing restaurant experiences through photography!
CloverEats spicy gumbo at Evanston’s “Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop”
The Experience: Dixie Kitchen, as we affectionate refer to it as, has excellent decorations. Its official name includes “Bait Shop,” and Dixie Kitchen doesn’t fail to deliver on this. All around, vintage finds and mentions of fishing can be seen; the decorations are intricate and fit with the cuisine in a cute way.
GUMBO.
Vintage; recycled.
The Food: Martin and I really love coming to Dixie Kitchen for its morning brunch, which includes the amazing Jumbalaya Omelette. There is also mimosa, good coffee, corn bread pancakes, and plantains. The food is always delicious here, although it took some getting used to at first; I didn’t used to like Cajun food as a kid, but now I feel it is so homey and delicious!
Peach glazed wings!
Thick, thick gumbo!
Corn bread appetizer.
The Bill: I believe our bill came to around $30 for two, which was fine because we both ate a lot, as always.
"One drop is all you need!"
CloverEats! colorful Bibimbap at Evanston’s “Mandarin House”
Pretty much the only Asian restaurant up north, Mandarin House serves a mixture of Korean and Chinese food. My boyfriend and I hit it up pretty often, so much so that the waitresses know us. Last time, he ordered a dish “extra spicy,” and could barely eat it. With tears in his eyes, Martin told our waitress it was delicious, and all the waitresses laughed at us.
The Experience: Mandarin House used to have a wooden storefront that made it look deserted, but has since undergone renovations and now sports a nice glass window! It’s BYOB and has a liquor store right across the street, which is nice for college students like us. 
The Food: I always get the Bibimbap, which is always yummy. The food isn’t too spectacular, especially the soups that come with the lunch special (Egg Drop is too bland; Hot and Sour is too peppery); but you can’t go wrong with Bibimbap! Martin’s had some mediocre experiences with the Bulgogi – apparently the pork is much better than the beef or chicken options.
The Bill: Mandarin House has a great lunch special deal, and isn’t too expensive for dinner either. I think it comes to $15 for lunch (for two of us), and yesterday, when we went for Dillo Day, it was only $11/person.
Overall: Mandarin House is nice for a quick bite, and never seems to get crowded. Yelp!
CloverEats (and loves!) unique appetizers at Evanston’s “The Cellar”
The Experience: The Cellar is the younger, hipper sister restaurant to The Stained Glass, sharing (aptly enough) a wine cellar. It is dimly lit, well decorated, and easily gets crowded on a warm summer night. There is a full bar that serves strong drinks, as well as high and low seats (ranging from the bar to a couch).
It's easy to miss, snuggled in with a small window.
The Food: The food comes in appetizer-sized portions, and the chefs employ unique foods such as truffle, escargot, and foie gras. I am always reminded of “Ratatouille” when I eat here; the different flavors complement each other so well, it’s amazing. For example, the acorn squash dish has sweet nuts, soft moist squash, and crunchy cubes of beet. Together, in the mouth, the flavors swirl together to create an amazing amalgamation; I’ve only experienced such harmony at one other Evanston restaurant, Quince.
Sauteed escargot.
Truffle mac and cheese!
French onion soup.
Acorn squash!
Lobster curry!
The Bill: This restaurant is definitely me and Martin’s go-to place for special occasions. The bill unfortunately can run up to $70 for just the two of us, but for the amazing foods, it’s definitely worth it. Check it out!
Lemon-Lime dessert.
Selection of gelatos.
CloverEats! delicious pressed sandwiches at Chicago’s “Cafecito”
Whilst searching for a small, casual restaurant suitable to host Martin’s surprise birthday at, I found Cafecito, a cute restaurant with rave reviews by Yelpers.
Unique drinks!
It was a great place for our group to enjoy a quick bite before heading over to Dave and Busters, and the sandwiches were both delicious and cheap!
Wrapped sandwich!
I didn’t try the namesake cafecito, because by that time it was too late for any kind of caffeine, but the Pavo sandwich was amazing! Everything was also really cheap!
Omnom!
Official website; YELP (over 300 reviews!).
Snapshot: CloverEats! at Chicago’s “India House”
We left Howl at the Moon to get a full meal, and walked around the block to India House. No one was too hungry, so we mainly filled up on naan.
Delicious and warm!
The two dishes we split among six of us were quite delicious, and there were hot towels at the end of the meal. Our waiter seemed a little irritated, but that’s pretty understandable considering how little food we ordered. Nevertheless, the restaurant continued to refill our naan, water glasses, and was in general quite courteous.
Yum! I'd definitely come back for a full meal sometime.
Snapshot: CloverSnacks! on avocado and quesadillas at “El Charro”
While taking a break from the grueling poker tables at the Horseshoe Casino (which surprisingly was only a 30-min free bus ride from Argyle), we stopped by a little joint called “El Charro.” I was craving avocado, which sometimes happens, so asked for a plate of it. It was quite delicious, cheap, and hearty!
An avocado plate.
Chips and sauces!
CloverEats sandwiches at Ann Arbor’s “Zingerman’s”
The Experience: Zingerman’s is eclectic. There’s a deli, bread, cheese, sauces, desserts, and ice cream, all squashed into one restaurant. The walls are painted with bright colors, posters, and old recipes for “retired” sandwiches. The service was excellent, and everyone was friendly. After ordering, one samples some mustards before looking for a seat; the servers will come find you, bearing giant platters and shouting your name.
So many cheeses.
Giant marshmallows.
Bread and cheese!
The Food: The sandwich was quite good, although I still love Al’s Deli the most for cold sandwiches. I took most of my food home, but everyone else finished up! The ginger ale, on the other hand, was so spicy my mouth burned and got numb. It was delicious, but I couldn’t finish it.
My corned beef!
Fred's "Raisin d'etre," lol.
Garlicky pickle and ridiculous ginger ale.
The Bill: Things were a little pricey, coming to almost $20 for my sandwich, drink, and dessert, but everything was good!
So many recipes.
Many, many, many options.
CloverEats! cold sandwiches and butter cookies at Evanston’s “Al’s Deli”
Al’s Deli and Rollin’ to Go are two sandwich shops that lie right next to each other on Noyes St. Many a hungry patron has stood between the two stores, facing the Italian flag and butter cookies in each store’s window. When I’m in the mood for something light and cold, I always go for Al’s Deli. (Rollin’ to Go’s pizza, on the other hand, is amazing and a story for another day.)
So many treats!
Al’s Deli is packed with foodstuffs – everything from your quotidien chips to fancy European imports. There’s also photos all over the wall and shirts with the store’s name on it!
The menu!
There’s a glass counter at the end of the store, which is rather narrow due to the massive amounts of goods, and behind that is where the magic happens. Fresh ingredients are chopped, sliced, and amalgamated into delicious masterpieces.
Smoked turkey + AIOLI on rosemary olive bread!
The butter cookies are kept in a freezer, lest they melt!
Unfortunately, Al’s is closed on Wednesdays and only open a short time around lunch (11-4), similar to Edzo’s. It’s cheap and delicious though, and the fact that it thrives on only lunchtime business says a lot!
Martin always gets chili.
Snapshot: CloverListens! at Chicago’s “Howl to the Moon”
Yuxi won a free party at this piano bar, so we all headed down into the Loop for some drinks, piano, and a free buffet! The buffet didn’t have too much, but the drinks were only $1 for us, and the piano was very different from anything I’ve seen before. Apparently, people ‘duel’ at the two opposing pianos!
Crowded.
It was pretty crowded, but the man on the piano was playing/singing Lady Gaga, and the atmosphere was buzzing. We kept trying to ask for Vitamin C’s “Graduation” to be played, and eventually they compromised with “Celebration.” There were a lot of people celebrating birthdays, getting married, anniversaries, etc. Seems like a nice place for a group celebration!
Piano!
CloverEats! creamy curry at Chicago’s “My Thai”
After helping Kevin, Olivia and John move, we went out for a much deserved meal. I don’t know if I was just really hungry, but My Thai was amazingly delicious.
Green curry and Chardonnay.
Amazing Pad See Ewe.
Golden Noodles.
Soooo creamy and flavorful!
The service was extremely prompt; it felt like we had only just ordered when our food came out! Thanks also to Kevin and Olivia for treating us!
Fresh mango + warm, coconut sticky rice.
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